Chapter 9: The Dark Side of a Broken Wizard


For a while, the thought of Sophie returning frightened everyone in the castle. They didn't know what level of anger she would exude or if being away had calmed her down. Ultimately, her reaction was unpredictable and they had no way to prepare.

As the night drew on, however, they wondered if she would even come home at all.

"Howl, it's almost midnight. We need to start looking for her." Kenta sat next to Markl, who for the first time in a long time sat completely still, like he was in a trance. He moved his hand down Heen's spine, but even the trusty dog couldn't soothe his anxiety.

Howl stood over Calcifer, his hands raised over the blaze. The fire demon rested his arms on the ashen log, looking up at Howl. His eyes were closed, and his breathing calm. His concentration was strong as Calcifer tried to decipher the hidden thoughts that lay inside his mind. He hoped Howl was thinking of a plan to find Sophie. She normally didn't stay out this late, and the thought made his flames shiver in fear.

Calcifer gulped. "Howl, what are you going to do?"

Howl touched the blue necklace that hung down his chest – similar to the one that he gave to Sophie – with two fingers. He mumbled under his breath and a blue light illuminated out of the necklace until it shone so bright that even Calcifer had to look away. Yet as soon as it brightened, it quickly vanished.

Calcifer blinked before readjusting his eyes. "What was that?"

Howl shook his head, his fists tightening by his side. "I was trying to contact Sophie."

"Through your necklace?"

Howl nodded. "I gave her the stone of Laputa, a rare source of magic that has been passed down in my family for generations. My uncle gave me this one during our training, which is cut from the stone as Sophie's. It is of similar properties and would normally be able to connect with hers, but for some reason I can't anymore."

Kenta blinked. "I had no idea your relatives were of the Laputa civilization."

Howl shrugged. "How else was I to create a magical flying castle? Technology can only do so much."

"I'm surprised you weren't able to contact Sophie with yours. It should have been nearly immediate."

"Should have been." Howl exhaled through his teeth. "I want to know why it wasn't."

He touched the necklace again, pleading for their bond to reconnect. His voice was a whimper as he tried casting the spell again. His mind only focused on Sophie. He thought of her eyes, the color of her hair and how it flowed with the wind, the way she smiled and how it always gave him such a warm feeling inside. He hadn't seen her smile that way in a long time; he only wanted to make her happy again and to return that wonderful smile to her face. He wanted to restore her confidence in him.

The blue light shot out, but melted back into the necklace. The spell was broken. Again.

"No!" Howl slammed his fists on the concrete fireplace, sending a cloud of ashes throughout the living room. Everyone coughed and covered their faces, except Howl. His eyes burned an enraged passion.

"Howl, maybe we should try something else." Kenta walked toward the linen closet and pulled out a broom and dustpan. With a snap of his fingers, the inanimate objects moved toward the dusty room and began cleaning on their own. When they finished, Kenta returned them to the closet.

Howl breathed in heavily, his eyes glued to the concrete between his fists. Only magic could break the connection between his necklace and Sophie's. And not just any type of magic - the mage's spells. They were the only spells powerful enough to sever a Laputian enchantment.

And his former teacher was an excellent sorceress of the mage's spells.

"Howl?" Kenta raised his hand to Howl's shoulder to comfort his friend, but he bolted to the nearby bookcase. Howl pulled book after book off the shelves, staring at the title for a couple seconds before tossing it. Heen and Markl peaked over the couch, watching silently as their master engaged in this outburst.

Howl returned to them with an old spell book in hand. The cover had a rocky texture with ancient writings on the cover. Those of whom were unfamiliar with the ancient spells and language wouldn't understand the writing, but everyone in the room had no trouble at all. Even Markl could read the cover, then he immediately jumped with joy.

Calcifer blinked. "The mage's spells? What do you need those for?"

Markl stared with stars in his eyes. "Are you going to teach me the mage's spells now?"

Howl held the binding of the book between his palm while the other hand swiftly turned page after page, looking for one spell in particular. Somewhere in the middle, Howl tapped his finger on the page.

"Static Charm." Howl said, his eyes focused on the words. "If used correctly, this spell will hinder any connection between two magical beings or objects, regardless of rarity or strength. Any magical link will be disabled for as long as the spell is active."

Kenta raised his chin, fully understanding what Howl was getting at. "You think someone is blocking your connection with Sophie."

Howl slammed the book shut and dropped it on the coffee table. "Not just anyone - the person who taught us these spells."

Kenta widened his eyes as the reality of the situation grew more cataclysmic by the second. Before he could speak, they heard a door in the hallway creak open. Light footsteps made their way down the hallway into the main room, and the Witch of the Wastes strolled in wearing her nightgown and smiling eerily wide.

"Oh, we have a guest." The Witch said, her eyes fixated on Kenta. She raised her eyebrows up and down, causing Kenta to abruptly turn away. He knew that Howl allowed the Witch of the Wastes to reside in his home since she had lost her magic, but the way she looked at him was far too creepy. It was a haunting reminder of when he had almost been her victim.

"Yes, we do." Howl helped her to the couch. "We're working on important business, so we need a bit of quiet in order to concentrate."

The Witch propped one eyebrow up. "Don't forget, Howl - Suliman is a tough cookie to crack. You'll need all the help you can get."

Howl took a step back. "How did you-"

"Oh, please Howl. As if you could really hide anything from me." The Witch rested her feet on the coffee table and reached into her quaint nightgown, pulling out a fresh white rose. She smelled the petals, breathing in their untainted scent. "What a pretty flower."

Calcifer dropped the log he was about to add to his flame and it fell off the fireplace, landing next to Kenta's feet. "Where did she get that?"

Howl turned to Calcifer as Kenta bent forward to pick up the fallen log. "What's the problem? She probably just took it from the shop."

As Kenta placed the log in his fiery hands, he noticed a certain fear in the demon's eyes. He couldn't tell what it was, but something didn't seem right. Based on his experience, fire demons were quite perceptive of these things.

Calcifer knew that rose in particular was trouble. With all the secrets and lies he'd held to keep Howl's temper down, this would be an atomic bomb on Howl's world. Calcifer had kept Sophie's secret for months; he knew even she would agree Howl deserved to finally know the truth.

"Howl, there's something you need to know." Calcifer closed his eyes and let the words roll off his tongue before he could talk himself out of it. "Justin proposed to Sophie."

Howl held his breath for a second, letting his head bob forward. Calcifer lowered his gaze, unable to look Howl in the eye. He felt ashamed for hiding this from his master and friend for as long as he did. There was no easy way to say it.

Howl took short breaths in and out, trying to formulate a response to the demon. "Wh-what did you say?"

Calcifer gulped. "Justin has proposed to Sophie... five times since last year."

Howl thought he had heard Calcifer wrong, but the guilt present on the demon's face was too real.

Prince Justin - the man who professed his love for Sophie all due to a kiss as a scarecrow; the man who called for arrest warrants for supposedly kidnapping him, not saving his life; the man who was currently engaged to Lettie, all the while trying to win Sophie's heart. Howl tightened his fists at his side, his arms shaking and his breath heavy. Kenta held his shoulders, but he couldn't hold Howl back for long.

"He what!" Howl erupted and flames burst through his fists. His eyes turned a blood red as his emotions took over. He hadn't felt this way since before he gave his heart to Calcifer, since before he left his emotions behind. Now, for the first time since he regained his heart, Howl let out all of his sensations at once.

Kenta, Calcifer, and Markl knew what was happening, although the extent of his anger was unpredictable.

"Howl, you need to calm down." Kenta held his arms at his side with all his strength, fighting against Howl's rage. Heen hid under the coffee table as Markl opened the mage's spell book, hoping to find something of any use, but since he hadn't learned any of the spells yet, he didn't know how to cast them. The Witch of the Wastes sat still, her smile wide as she enjoyed the show.

Howl propelled Kenta to the ground with ease. A whirlwind wrapped around Howl and almost blew Calcifer away with its force. The thought of Sophie with another man – namely, Prince Justin – launched Howl beyond his limits and forced his dark side to resurface again. He couldn't control the hurt and the betrayal and the rage that consumed him.

For an entire year, Sophie had lied to him.

Howl's screams molded into the whirlwind, sending chills throughout the room. Kenta stood up quickly and chanted a spell to destroy the whirlwind. He was quite familiar with verdant magic, and it frightened him that Howl knew a wind spell dangerous for what his source of magic was. Mixing source magic was a risky game, and even Howl should have been aware of the dire consequences.

Dust flew around after the wind had vanished, slowly falling to the ground, but Howl had only grown more vengeful. His eyes were no long a deep red, but now were two void, black holes. The white in his eyes had been completely tainted and overtaken by the darkness that lay dormant in his soul.

It took a simple, dishonest action from Sophie for the wizard to lose his entire soul.

"Howl, listen to me." Calcifer shouted, hoping his ears hadn't deafened from the power of the wind. "You need to know that no matter how many times Justin proposed to her, she always said no. Sophie never loved him because she's in love with you. She always has been and you can't let this control you. If you don't stop this outburst of yours, you're letting Justin and Suliman win."

"She never loved me." Howl whispered through clenched teeth, his voice echoing like a deep, demonic beast. "She would have told me the truth if she truly loved me. She wouldn't have lied to my face. The one person I thought I could trust, and she was lying the whole time."

"Don't say that like you've never lied to her, Howl." Calcifer said sternly. "No matter what you did, no matter how horrible your decisions were, Sophie always loved you. She accepted that part of you and now you have to accept that she would lie to protect you. Otherwise, you're just the deceitful, cowardice wizard everyone believes you to be."

Howl turned his gaze to Calcifer, the emptiness shaking the fire demon into the core of his being. Calcifer tried searching for the familiar good, the part that made his friend who he really was. This wicked side, this monster that had taken over him - this Howl was fearful. This Howl was destructive. This Howl was an iniquity.

"Calm yourself down," Calcifer ordered. "I know Sophie usually helps you when you get this way, and you haven't been this bad in a long time, but you have to relax if you want to think logically about this."

Howl took a long, deep inhale, struggling to think tranquil thoughts. He closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, meditating his mind. Whenever things became too hard to handle and he felt vile, Sophie told him she would be there to help him through it. Now that he had completely broken down, she wasn't there to soften his heart.

Howl's breathing took a while to return to a regular rate and he hung his head low. Kenta and Calcifer breathed a sigh of relief, watching as Howl had somewhat returned to normal.

Kenta attempted to place his hand on Howl's shoulder, wondering if it was the right time or if he would still have some erratic emotions left. Howl exhaled deeply and opened his eyes, the color restored to a cloudy blue.

"Howl..."

"I'm fine." Howl said abruptly. "I think. For now, I should be all right."

Calcifer gulped. "I didn't mean to be so sudden. It just... it seemed like the right time to let you know."

Howl turned to Calcifer, his eyes narrowed. "How long have you known?"

"Since the second time." Calcifer admitted. "Sophie thought she could handle the first one, thinking it was just a spur of the moment. But when he came back and asked again, she knew she needed to talk to someone."

"Why didn't she come to me?"

Calcifer was blunt. "She didn't want you to react like this."

Howl looked to the Witch of the Wastes. She sat quietly on the couch, eyeing the rose like it was a prized gift. She twirled it between her fingers like an elegant dance. Howl snatched it out of her fingers, staring at the rose in disgust.

The Witch groaned. "Well, that was very impolite."

"I'm not trying to be polite." Howl sneered. He held the rose up to Calcifer. "What did Justin have to do with this rose?"

"He gave it to her the last time he proposed. Sophie threw it in my fire to burn, but it wouldn't. I tried everything, but it wasn't even charred."

Howl observed the flower more closely, this time not letting any petal go by unseen. He lightly pulled each petal, not tearing it off but just close enough to see what lay beneath the surface. He stared at the rose right in the center, and in a flash he saw it.

Howl snapped his fingers and instantly, the rose petals plucked off the stem, slowly falling to the ground like feathers. Sitting atop the stem was a tiny, black slug, one with which Howl was all too familiar.

The slug, having been discovered, panicked and tried escaping, but Howl was too quick. He held the bug in his grip, tightening it harder and making the slug struggle to breathe.

Calcifer gasped. "He tricked her!"

Howl shook his head. "He's been spying on us ever since he gave her that rose. How long ago was that?"

"Almost two months ago." Calcifer said. "The day Lettie came by to announce her proposal to Justin."

"The day he proposed to Sophie... Lettie said he also proposed to her?" Calcifer nodded. Howl pursed his lips in high suspicion. "How much you want to bet that wedding is just as superficial?"

"Lettie would never do that to her own sister." Calcifer said. "She loves her too much to do something as horrible as trick her, least of all for the Royal Family."

Howl turned to the peeping slug, his eyes glaring at the pest with fury. In his own home, Suliman managed to hide a peeping slug for over a month. She'd only been able to hide one for a few minutes before. How this went over Howl's head was beyond him, and he hated thinking of what Suliman might have known.

He tightened his grip until the slug disintegrated, its ashes forming in Howl's palm. "Right now I don't trust anyone."

He turned to the mage's spell book. Markl still wrapped himself around the mysterious pages. The power that surged in the spells was enchanting to the young boy's mind. Howl placed a hand on Markl's head, and the boy immediately looked up. His eyes were filled with tears as he stood up to hug his master.

Markl pushed his head into Howl's chest, his voice soft and muffled. "I'm sorry I couldn't help, Master Howl."

Howl patted his curly hair. "It's not your fault, Markl. I... I did this to myself."

"But I'm not good enough; I'll never be good enough to be your apprentice."

Howl released the boy, his words breaking the heart he had only begun to realize. He knelt down to his height, pressing down on his shoulders. "Listen to me, Markl. You are young; in the years I have spent training you and preparing you for the outside world, you have surpassed anything I had completed at your age. I was about to teach you the mage's spells! I didn't learn those until I was well into Suliman's apprenticeship, and you're ready to learn them any day now."

Markl sniffled and rubbed his eyes in Howl's chest. "I still feel weak."

"You are nothing but brave, intelligent, and determined. I have never seen you back down from anything, and I know you will become a great wizard. Maybe greater than your master."

Markl lifted his head, his distressed eyes looking up to Howl's with a sliver of hope. The amount of compassion and belief that he demonstrated for Markl was enough for the boy to truly feel worthwhile.

Howl stood up, his hand still on Markl's shoulder, and stood proudly before the group. "We're going to find Sophie. Tonight."

Calcifer and Markl smiled, but Kenta wasn't impressed. "Howl, if we can't track her, where do we even start looking?"

Howl held the mage's spell book in his grip. "Suliman knows these spells like the back of her hand. She's the only one I can think of who would try to block my connection with Sophie. She's the only one who has anything to gain from this."

Kenta pinched his nose. "Don't tell me we're going back there."

"If Suliman did take Sophie, the Kingsbury Palace is my best guess." Kenta shook his head and turned for the exit, but Howl wouldn't let him walk so easily. "And if we can't find her there, we will search everywhere from here to the Wastes until we bring Sophie home. I am not letting that evil witch ruin any more lives."

Howl snapped his fingers, which returned the mage's spell book as well as the fallen books from earlier to their place in the bookcase. As Kenta approached the front door, Howl hurried to stop him from walking outside. He couldn't let his friend just leave when he needed him most. There weren't many people he could rely on, and Kenta had been a valued comrade since their apprenticeship.

"Please, Kenta. Sophie means the world to me; I would do anything for her. I'm asking you to put aside your fears of Suliman and Kingsbury to bring her back." Kenta bit his lip and shook his head. It was too high of a risk; he barely made it out of there alive. Part of him held onto the fact that he should walk away with his wins and leave the gamble.

Howl pleaded with him, "You know I would do the same to help you find your love."

Kenta's eyes glistened off the fluorescent lights. He thought of the girl whose name was merely a blank slate in his memory. He thought of those piercing, magnificent eyes that kept him awake most nights, begging him to come home. He needed to find her. She was everything to him, like Sophie was to Howl.

With a light nod, Kenta agreed. They returned to the others to formulate a plan to break into the Kingsbury Palace - a feat that had rarely been done and scarcely succeeded.

"Howl." He looked over to Calcifer. "You do realize that it wasn't Sophie's fault. She didn't purposely lead Suliman to this place. She's had the upper hand on us for weeks."

Howl lowered his chin and nodded. "I know."


Howl and his dark side...not a pretty sight, huh? Well, that was just a little taste of what it's like when Howl has his heart and uses the depth of his emotions that he's had locked away for almost 15 years (I think it's been that long... don't quote me on it). If that's the way Howl reacts knowing half of the truth, I wouldn't want to be Sophie if he figures out the rest.